The petitions challenging the Special Incentive Revision or SIR process were heard in the Supreme Court on Tuesday. During this period, many questions were raised on the validity and transparency of SIR. The next hearing in this case will now be held on December 4. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the petitioners, presented his arguments before Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymala Bagchi.
Singhvi raised questions on the powers of the Election Commission and said that ECI has no right to make rules. Its job is not to conduct citizenship test and this process is outside the scope of RP Act (RoPA). Singhvi said that the power of the Election Commission is limited to the constitutional level and not at the entire state or country level. The EC has imposed upon itself the authority to verify citizenship.
Singhvi said that in fact the law is that until I have acquired foreign citizenship, I should be considered an Indian citizen. He said that any citizen is put in the ‘guest list’ without any information. Regarding migration, Singhvi said that migration is a human characteristic. It cannot be used on generic grounds for SIR.
You should be limited to what you say – CJI to Prashant Bhushan
Prashant Bhushan argued that the SIR process was opaque, but the CJI stopped him from making extensive comments. Prashant Bhushan said that SIR is being run so quickly and on such a large scale that there is immense pressure at the field level. He said that many BLOs are committing suicide. There is no transparency in this. On this the CJI said that please limit yourself to your words.
What did SC say on Kerala SIR case?
On the Kerala SIR case, Chief Justice Surya Kant said that the date for filling the form can be extended beyond December 13. People affected by the local body elections in Kerala will get an opportunity to participate in it. The Supreme Court directed the Kerala government to submit a request to the Election Commission by 5 pm tomorrow, giving reasons for the extension. Along with this, the court directed the Election Commission to take a decision on these applications within two days and clarify its position. Compensation was demanded on the death of BLO. A lawyer said that no compensation is provided by the commission. The CJI said that we will hear this later.
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